DEMO TEACHING

TOPIC

COULOMB’S LAW

ANNABELM. PEDERI
Applicant
Who is He?
 Electric charge
• Intrinsic property of the particles that make
up matter
 Electric charge
• Charge can be positive or negative
 Electric charge
• Atoms are composed of negatively-charged
electrons and positively-charged protons
 Electric charge
• Charge is measured in Coulombs [unit: C]
 Electric charge
• Charge is measured in Coulombs [unit: C]

• Proton and electron have equal and

opposite elementary charge = 1.6 x 10-19 C

• Charge on proton = +1.6 x 10-19 C

• Charge on electron = -1.6 x 10-19 C

 Electric charge
• We now know that protons and neutrons
are made up of quarks with 2/3 and -1/3
charges (electrons are still fundamental)
 Electric charge
• Charge cannot be created or destroyed (it is
conserved) but it can be moved around
 Electric charge
• Charges feel electrostatic forces
A balloon is rubbed against a nylon
jumper, and it is then found to cause a
force of attraction to human hair.
From this experiment it can be
determined that the electrostatic
charge on the balloon is

1. positive
2. negative
3. Impossible to determine
0% 0% 0%

1. 2. 3.
 Electric charge
• Rub a balloon on your hair and it will stick to things! Why??
 Electric charge
• Rub a balloon on your hair and it will stick to things! Why??

• Friction moves electrons from your hair to the balloon

• The balloon therefore becomes negatively charged, so your

hair becomes positively charged (charge conservation)

• Your hair will stand on end (like charges repel), and the
balloon will stick to your hair (opposite charges attract)

• Now move the balloon near a wall. The wall’s electrons are
repelled, so the wall becomes positively charged.

• The balloon will stick to the wall! (opposite charges attract)

 Electrostatic force
• The strength of the electrostatic force between
two charges q1 and q2 is given by Coulomb’s law

𝐹𝑒 𝐹𝑒

𝑘 = 9 × 109 𝑁 𝑚2 𝐶 −2
• The direction of the force is along the joining line
 Electrostatic force
• The electrostatic force is a vector, written 𝐹Ԧ

• Vectors have a magnitude and a direction. This

may be indicated by components𝐹Ԧ = (𝐹𝑥 , 𝐹𝑦 , 𝐹𝑧 )

• The magnitude is sometimes written as 𝐹Ԧ . It

Ԧ =
can be evaluated as |𝐹| 𝐹𝑥 2 + 𝐹𝑦 2 + 𝐹𝑧 2

• The direction can be indicated by a unit vector

 Electrostatic force
Example
Two 0.5 kg spheres are placed 25 cm apart. Each sphere has a
charge of 100 μC, one of them positive and the other negative.
Calculate the electrostatic force between them, and compare it to
their weight.
𝑘 |𝑞1 | |𝑞2 | 9 2 −2
Coulomb’s Law: 𝐹 = 2 𝑘 = 9 × 10 𝑁 𝑚 𝐶
𝑟
|𝑞1 | = |𝑞2 | = 100 𝜇𝐶 = 100 × 10−6 𝐶 = 10−4 𝐶
𝑟 = 25 𝑐𝑚 = 0.25 𝑚
9 × 109 × 10−4 × 10−4
𝐹𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 = 2
= 1440 𝑁
0.25
𝐹𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 𝑚𝑔 = 0.5 × 9.8 = 4.9 𝑁
 Electrostatic force
• Where multiple charges are present, the forces
sum as vectors (“principle of superposition”)

+ve

What is the combined force

on the blue charge from the
+ve two red charges?

+ve
 Electrostatic force
• Where multiple charges are present, the forces
sum as vectors (“principle of superposition”)

+ve
𝐹1

𝐹𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2
+ve
𝐹2
+ve
 Electrostatic force
• Where multiple charges are present, the forces
sum as vectors (“principle of superposition”)

+ve
𝐹1

+ve
𝐹2
+ve
 |-

Electrostatic force
Example
Two protons are 3.6 nm apart. What is the total force on an
electron located on the line between them, 1.2 nm from one of
the protons? (elementary charge e=1.6 x 10-19 C)

q=+e q=-e q=+e

r1=1.2 nm=r r2=2.4 nm=2r

𝑘 |𝑞1 ||𝑞2 | 𝑘 𝑒 2 𝑘 |𝑞1 ||𝑞2 | 𝑘 𝑒2

|𝐹1 | = 2
= 2 |𝐹2 | = 2
=
𝑟1 𝑟 𝑟2 (2𝑟)2

𝑘𝑒 2 𝑘𝑒 2 3𝑘𝑒 2 3 × 9 × 109 × 1.6 × 10−19 2

𝐹1 − 𝐹2 = 2 − 2 = = = 0.12 𝑛𝑁
𝑟 4𝑟 4𝑟 2 4 × 1.2 × 10−9 2
Electric field
 Electric field
• The electric field at a point is the force a unit
charge (q = +1 C) would experience if placed there

𝐹Ԧ
𝐸= 𝐹Ԧ = 𝑞 𝐸 (Units of E are N/C)
𝑞
• It is a vector and its direction can be represented
by electric field lines

• Let’s look at some simple examples!

 Electric field
• Electric field around a positive charge +Q
Test charge +q at separation r
feels an outward force
+q
𝑘𝑄𝑞
|𝐹| =
𝑟2

Electric field is also outward

|𝐹| 𝑘𝑄
|𝐸| = =
𝑞 𝑟2

Now imagine placing the test charge at many different

places to map out the whole electric field
 Electric field
• Electric field around a positive charge +Q

Magnitude of electric field at

any point:
|𝐹| 𝑘𝑄
|𝐸| = =
𝑞 𝑟2

Direction of electric field is

radially outward
 Electric field
• Electric field around a negative charge -Q

Magnitude of electric field at

any point:
|𝐹| 𝑘𝑄
|𝐸| = =
𝑞 𝑟2

Direction of electric field is

radially inward
 Electric field
• Electric field lines start on positive charges and end
on negative charges

• The more closely spaced the field lines, the

stronger the force
 Electric field
• The direction of the field lines show how a positive
charge would move if placed at that point. A
negative charge would move the opposite way.

𝐸
+q 𝐹Ԧ = 𝐸/𝑞

𝐹Ԧ = −𝐸/𝑞 -q
 Electric field
• Electric field lines between two charges

Unlike charges Like charges

 Electric field
• Electric field lines between charged plates
 Electric field
• Electric field lines between charged plates

• A constant electric field is obtained (see later

material on capacitors)
Consider an electron placed near a
pair of identical positive charges, as
in the field diagram. If the electron is
at position “A” the direction of the
force on it is best indicated by which
of the following arrows?
1. ↑
2. ↖
3. ↘ 0% 0% 0% 0%

4. →
1 2 3 4

What is the force at location “C”?

 Electric field
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

E= kq/r2 along joining line, k=9x109

Electric field at P due to green charge q = +5x10-6 C

P
0.6
𝑘 𝑞 9 × 109 × 5 × 10−6 5 𝑁/𝐶
𝐸= 2 = = 3.5 × 10
𝑟 0.62
0
Direction is along y-axis: 𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 = (0, 3.5 × 105 )
 Electric field
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

E= kq/r2 along joining line, k=9x109

Electric field at P due to purple charge q = -2x10-6 C

P
0.6
𝑘 |𝑞|
𝐸= 2 Pythagoras: r2 = 0.62 + 0.742 = 0.91 m2
𝑟
r = 0.95 m
0.74
 Electric field
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

E= kq/r2 along joining line, k=9x109

Electric field at P due to purple charge q = -2x10-6 C

P
0.6 𝑘 |𝑞| 9 × 109 × 2 × 10−6 5 𝑁/𝐶
𝐸= 2 = = 0.20 × 10
𝑟 0.952

0.74
 Electric field
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

E= kq/r2 along joining line, k=9x109

Electric field at P due to purple charge q = -2x10-6 C

𝑘 |𝑞| 9 × 109 × 2 × 10−6 5 𝑁/𝐶
𝐸= 2 = = 0.20 × 10
0.6 𝑟 0.952

0.74 𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 = (0.16 × 105 , −0.13 × 105 )

 Electric field
Example A +5.0 mC charge is located at the origin, P
and a -2.0 mC charge is 0.74 m away on the x-axis. 0.6
Calculate the electric field at point P, on the y-axis
0.6 m above the positive charge. If a +1.5 mC was
placed at P, what force would it experience?
0 0.74

Electric field is superposition of 2 charges

Green charge: 𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 = (0, 3.5 × 105 )

Purple charge: 𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 = (0.16 × 105 , −0.13 × 105 )

Total: 𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 = (0.16 × 105 , 3.37 × 105 )

Electric field strength at P: 𝐸= 𝐸𝑥 2 + 𝐸𝑦 2 = 3.38 × 105 𝑁/𝐶

Force: 𝐹 = 𝑞𝐸 = 1.5 × 10−6 × 3.38 × 105 = 0.51 𝑁

 Electric dipole
• A pair of positive and negative charges together
form an electric dipole

Dipole moment

• An example in nature is the water molecule H20

 Electric dipole
• A dipole in an electric field will feel a torque
but no net force

𝜏 = 𝐹𝑙 sin 𝜃 = 𝐸𝑄𝑙 sin 𝜃 𝜏Ԧ = 𝐸 × 𝑝Ԧ

 A
Two particles move into the region E
between charged parallel plates,
moving as shown in the diagram.
Which of the following combinations is
possible?

1. A and B are both electrons B

2. A and B are both protons

3. A is a proton, B an electron
4. A is an electron, B a proton
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

5. No way to determine 1 2 3 4 5
 Electrostatic analyzer
• Charged particles will experience a force in an
electric field F=qE, hence acceleration a=F/m=qE/m
 Electrostatic analyzer
• An electrostatic analyzer selects velocities

Uniform electric field E applied

between curved surfaces

Acceleration a is given by:

r 𝐹 𝑞𝐸
𝑎= =
𝑚 𝑚
𝑣2
𝑎=
𝑟
𝑣 2 𝑞𝐸 𝑞𝐸𝑟
= →𝑣=
𝑟 𝑚 𝑚
 Conductors and Insulators
• In metals (e.g. copper, iron) some electrons are weakly held
and can move freely through the metal, creating an electric
current. Metals are good conductors of electricity.
 Conductors and Insulators
• In metals (e.g. copper, iron) some electrons are weakly held
and can move freely through the metal, creating an electric
current. Metals are good conductors of electricity.

• In non-metals (e.g. glass, rubber, plastic) electrons are

strongly held and are not free to move. Non-metals are
poor conductors of electricity, or insulators.

• Semi-conductors (e.g. germanium, silicon) are half-way

between conductors and insulators.

Freely moving electrons make metals good conductors of electricity and heat
 Chapter 20 : Summary
• Matter is made up of positive and negative charges.
Electrons/protons carry the elementary charge 1.6 x 10-19 C

• Forces between charges are described by Coulomb’s Law

𝑘 𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹= 𝑘 = 9 × 109 𝑁 𝑚2 𝐶 −2
𝑟2
• Forces from multiple charges sum as vectors

• Electric field describes the force-field around charges

𝐹Ԧ
𝐸= 𝐹Ԧ = 𝑞 𝐸
𝑞